What is GSC – Gold Seal Certificate?

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Clik here to view.The Gold Seal Certificate was developed by the Canadian Construction industry and for the industry and is a voluntary certification program for the individual. The Certificate signifies that the individual has attained a nationally recognized level of experience and competence as a Project Manager, Superintendent, Estimator or Owners.

The mission of the Canadian Construction Association Gold Seal Program is to establish, administer and continuously improve professional certification standards for construction management excellence and through promotion of education and training, certify managers of construction against these national standards.

The continuing success of the Gold Seal Certification Program confirms the Association’s underlying belief that there is a significant desire in the management ranks to raise the professional image of the industry by having construction management skills in estimating, project supervision and management recognized on a national basis. There is also a growing recognition among construction employers that Gold Seal Accreditation Certification play an increasingly important role in the future of their businesses.

By establishing the Gold Seal Certificate as the national standard for construction management competence, outcomes will include:

A greater emphasis by the industry on continuous construction management education and training;
More accessible construction education and training consistent with industry requirements; and
A more professional image for the industry in the eyes of the public, the employer and the client.

For the individual, the Gold Seal Certificate is a declaration of his/her commitment to education, skill and competence that is recognized by construction employers across the country. It also provides an analysis of individual strengths and weaknesses as determined by the examination process. In addition, it provides a marketable credential to an employer, prospective employer or client.

For the contractor, employing Gold Seal Certified managers is a statement regarding the professionalism and commitment of the firm to education, skill and competence. Gold Seal Certification offers a real degree of assurance. The Certificate signifies that the individual has attained a nationally recognized level of experience and competence as a Superintendent, Estimator or Project Manager. In other words, the Gold Seal certified individual has attained the industry established national high standard of qualification.

For the owner and buyer of construction services, Gold Seal Certification is an assurance that the construction project management personnel employed on its projects have met the industry’s rigorous nation standards. In a competitive industry such as construction where the ease of entry permits wide fluctuations in construction capability and quality, the Gold Seal Certificate is regarded by building professionals as an important tool in distinguishing skills and competencies.

Having a Gold Seal Certificate as an accreditation can differentiate yourself from the competition.

Vivake Khan decided that GSC was the right certification for him.

Vivake’s career began after he graduated from the University of Toronto in Architectural Studies. He started working in the office for an engineering firm but quickly decided that the office life wasn’t for him. He pursued employment where he could be placed on-site, around people, because being a part of the hands-on aspect of a build was more important to him. Vivake currently works as a superintendent for EllisDon Construction in Mississauga, Ont.

Vivake avidly describes himself as someone compelled to work on being the best he can be at what he does. He witnessed colleagues with the same mindset as himself get their Gold Seal Certification, inspiring him to pursue it. With his new career goal set, and with the support of both his family and employer, Vivake wrote and passed the exam in 2014.

Luckily, Vivake reported not being faced with any obstacles when it came to completing the certification. His employer was very supportive of his goal, reimbursing him for his success afterwards.

He stated that obtaining the certification is not difficult to achieve, as long as you follow the recommended experience and course work. “Every business expects different detailed methods to be applied when completing a task, but at the end of the day it still comes down to the same things learned in the Certification course.”

In totality Vivake feels pride to have obtained his certification. “With this certification the company recognizes me as someone separate from the group. It’s great that they take pride in all their certified employees. I’m glad I got it, having this certification allows others to see that I am a credible source of information in and outside of the work place.”

When asked what he would say to others considering the certification he replied “Do it! There’s no reason not to, and to better yourself in the industry that you’re in is always a good thing!”

Gold Seal Accreditation recognizes construction management education offerings that meet the Gold Seal Certification program’s education and training requirements. Gold Seal Accreditation strives to continuously improve professional certification standards.

Gold Seal candidates are granted credits for courses, seminars, workshops, and conferences that cover any of the subject matter areas listed within the National Curriculum Standard. Through the accreditation program, course providers, like XTRAcredits can submit construction management-related education to be recognized by Gold Seal. XTRAcredits approved content is posted on the Gold Seal website and is promoted Canada-wide.

XTRAcredits has access to a library of industry leading subject matter experts who have are experts in their respected fields. Many of our subject matter experts are Hall of Fame professional speakers, authors, and successful entrepreneurs.

The primary objective of accreditation is to help prospective candidates, employers, and the interested public to identify any academic material which meet the Gold Seal Curriculum Standard.

The Curriculum Standard serves as a guide for XTRAcredits as we build courseware for construction management education. As a provider we must ensure that our course content adheres to the eleven subject matter areas that are recommended in support of the Gold Seal Certification Program. Accreditation is based on content and duration, the formula to calculate credit allocation is 6 hours = 1 credit.

The subject matter areas are:

Overview of the Construction Industry (PDF)
Construction Safety (PDF)
Communication (PDF)
Law and Contracts for the Construction Industry (PDF)
Construction Estimating (PDF)
Management of Human Resources in the Construction Industry (PDF)
Construction Job Site Controls (PDF)
Construction Planning – Scheduling (PDF)
Project Costing Control and Accounting (PDF)
The Project Management Process (PDF)
Construction and the Environment (PDF)

XTRAcredits has been a provider of Gold Seal Certified courses since October of 2015. “We are excited to have XTRAcredits join our team of education providers for GSC and P.GSCs. Gold Seal candidates can look forward to courses that will provide high quality expertise and learning experiences that are engaging. They can use these courses towards the education requirement in order to be eligible to challenge the exam or towards their ongoing professional development” said Stephanie Wallace who manages the Gold Seal program.

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Clik here to view.More about GSC. The program is supported by a 15-member Gold Seal Committee that meets three times a year to discuss changes to the program. The Gold Seal Committee chair is a member of the CCA board and nominated by the CCA chair in consultation with the CCA executive committee. The Gold Seal committee members are nominated by the Gold Seal chair and appointed by the CCA board. The Gold Seal committee members represent the disciplines (general, electrical, mechanical and trade contracting as well as roadbuilding and heavy civil) and construction safety and owner’s construction managers. (www.goldsealcertification.com/about/) For more information contact Stephanie Wallace at goldseal@cca-acc.com (613) 236-9455.

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